𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆 | 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒚𝒑𝒆𝒏 (𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨)

27

On this letter I want to write down our story
Every little thing about you and me

Seventeen - Love Letter

Chaerin nibbled on her bottom lip as she shakily hugged him. If possible, she would want him to never do that again. "Nothing," she stammered as her eyes squeezed shut in fear. A hand supported her to stand up as she leaned to the doorway. Her eyes remained shaken as her hands squeezed his. It has been years since he saw her in this state.

He massaged her knuckles as Chaerin heaved deep breathes. Perhaps, this was one flaw of her. Chaerin does not like it if something does not go her way. It would leave her confused and unresponsive as she tried to calm herself down. Minho hugged her in the back as he created a small braid in her hair.

If others would saw him, they would think that he was in love with her. But he only saw her as a sister he never had. Chaerin also thought of him that way. It was just that they were used to each other, and they never had a qualm about their personal space.

"There's cake downstairs, Jake," Minho reminded him as Jake sprinted downstairs and yelled in excitement. They stood there in silence as doubts seeped in their hearts. "Chaerin," Minho began as his eyes remained to the shaky figure of Chaerin.

"Nothing happened," Chaerin insisted as he set his lips in a thin line in defeat. Chaerin heaved a sigh and faced him with eyes full in doubt. "He just... learned full Korean," she insisted as her shoulders began shaking. "How could this be nothing? Jake was crying a while ago, but now he was laughing like nothing happened?"

"Let's just forget this happened... please." Chaerin begged as Minho sighed. It was difficult to let this go. Jake became different since this morning, and it stresses him out. How could a child change suddenly?

He finished the braid as he grabbed a black hair tie from his wrists. With hanging out from them, he made it a habit to wear hair tie in his wrist. They would often complain about it, and Minho had enough of it. "Thank you," Chaerin whispered as she hugged him again.

When can he experience someone to do this to him? His mind wandered to the hyper girl that he always worries about. Minho's jaw slackened at himself. He like her. Absolutely not, he thought. Besides, maybe she liked someone else.

Minho nodded as they made their way to the kitchen. They stood there, watching with full apprehension, and nothing is out of ordinary. It was as if they were all back to normal like the good old days. "Eomma, I want the fluffy blue rabbit," Sunghoon whined as he pulled on her skirt.

"No, I want it," Jake whined back as he pulled on the other side of the skirt. It brought Chaerin back to reality as a smile bloomed in her face. She kneeled to both and placed a hand on their shoulders.

"Tell me why you want the blue rabbit?" She questioned them as they began to look the other way. "It's tasty," Sunghoon answered in a quiet voice. Chaerin smiled at him and looked forward to Jake's answer. "It's cute," Jake grumbled.

Chaerin could not help but grin at their answers. It was so cute that she wanted to buy every cute little blue rabbit decoration in their large home. However, they would suffer for the lack of money. "Now, who needed it the most?"

They looked away, eyes wandering to the kitchen and the amused faces of their siblings. Heeseung sent them a teasing grin, but Jay slapped him in the back. "You're older than them," Jay nagged him. "We're still kids," Heeseung interjected back as Jay sighed in defeat.

"Me/Sunghoon," they both answered as Jake pouted at her. Chaerin gave the blue rabbit to Sunghoon's white plate. The, she gave the white rabbit to Jake's plate. "How about you, Eomma?" Jake questioned her since there were no decorations left.

"It's okay, I don't like the way the decorations tasted," she assured him and got a slice of the cake in her plate. It was delicious, and the chocolate melted in her mouth. The balance of the leftover cracked decorations and the chocolate overalls balanced perfectly with each other.

They ate for a while and gotten ready for the night. Heeseung and Jay are asleep at their room while Chaerin was reading them a story book in the youngest' room. Her soothing voice echoed in the room as Jake fought the urge to sleep.

Meanwhile, Sunghoon started showing the signs of stiffening up as Chaerin massaged his arms and legs. It was therapeutic to him since after a long night, his body would ache. Perhaps, the dark reminded him of the streets. He could not relax nor sleep because of the dangers in the alley.

"I'm here," Chaerin reminded him. His body began to relax as his eyes shut themselves closed. The snores of Sunghoon echoed in the room, and Chaerin strode her way to her bedroom. She jolted slightly as she was shocked to the loud snore of Minho in the living room sofa.

Her body plopped in the bedroom as she hugged the pillow tight. Unconsciously, she smiled as she remembers the cute smile of a certain member. Ah, Chaerin realized that she was having a crush. "Oh my," she squealed in her pillow as her cheeks reddened.

She sat up and ruffled her hair in excitement. If her Uncle Yuto saw her in this state, there would be a never-ending teasing from him. "Little Chaerin has a crush," Yuto teased. "As if," she grumbled as her heart thumped loudly.

Chaerin leaned again at the bed as her thoughts began to drift away. Her flushed cheeks turned back to normal as she arranged the pink blanket to suit her body. She smiled again as he remembered his face in her mind. The slight rustling of her wind chime in the window lulled her to sleep. "He was cute," she mumbled in her sleep.